Photographic processing apparatus

ABSTRACT

There is disclosed an apparatus for printing or developing large mural size prints wherein an outer cylinder having an access opening is rotatably mounted in a frame. An inner cylinder having a flattened portion on its periphery is rotatably mounted within the outer cylinder and coaxial therewith. Clips are on the flattened portion to retain a sheet on the inner cylinder while it is rotated through a solution retained in the bottom of the outer cylinder. Mounted within the outer cylinder are spray nozzles to spray the inner cylinder with a liquid and a lamp assembly. A detent mechanism is provided to position the outer cylinder in a selected one of three operating positions. The outer cylinder is provided with a jacket through which a liquid is circulated to maintain solution within the outer cylinder at a constant temperature.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Richard C. Bell 3,088,391 5/ 1963 Sigler 95/89 Fairfax, Va. 3,381,599 5/1968 Banks... 95/93 [2|] Appl. No. 798,345 3,359,880 12/1967 Huss 95/89 [22] Filed Feb. 11,1969 3,411,424 11/1968 Buechner 95/93 [45] Patented June 22, 1971 FORErGN PATENTS [73] Assignee Potomac Research Incorporated Baileys Crossroads v8. 605,391 5/1960 ltaly 95/93 Primary Examiner-John M. Horan Assistant Examiner-Alan Matthews 3 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.C1. 95/93, v

ABSTRACT: There is disclosed an apparatus for printing or [51] Int. Cl 603d 5/04 developing large mural size prints wherein an outer cylinder {50] Field of Search ..95/89, 90.5, h i an access opening is rotatably mounted in a frame. An 104 inner cylinder having a flattened portion on its periphery is rotatably mounted within the outer cylinder and coaxial [56] Rderenm Cm therewith. Clips are on the flattened portion to retain a sheet UNITED STATES PATENTS on the inner cylinder while it is rotated through a solution 746,632 12/ 1903 l-lolcombe 95/93 retained in the bottom of the outer cylinder. Mounted within 763,357 6/1904 Brainerd 95/93 the outer cylinder are spray nozzles to spray the inner cylinder 920,263 5/ 1909 Burton 95/90.5 with a liquid and a lamp assembly. A detent mechanism is prol,128,981 2/1915 Hoffman 134/153 vided to position the outer cylinder in a selected one of three 1,136,703 4/1915 Neshirne 95/90.5 operating positions. The outer cylinder is provided with a 3,280,716 3/ 1966 Gall 95/89 jacket through which a liquid is circulated to maintain solution 3,292,519 12/1966 l-lallquist 95/99 within the outer cylinder at a constant temperature.

# 41/. LJ 4 l j L T PATENIED JUN22 I971 SHEET 2 BF 5 mvm'rmc RICHARD C BALL PATENTEUJUNZZIHYI 3585.918

sum 3 or 5 INVEN'IOR RICHARD C. BALL ATTORNEY PATENTEB 22 I971 SHEET t [If 5 FIG. 5

mvsmon RICHARD 0. BALL BY 6m? ATTORNEY PATENTEU JUN22 IBYI SHEET 5 BF 5 INVEN'IUR RICHARD c BALL PI-IOTOGRAPIIIC PROCESSING APPARATUS The present invention relates to the processing of photographic sheet materials, more particularly, to an apparatus for the printing or developing of large mural size prints with ease and convenience. v

The processing of photographic materials is conventionally carried out in a dark room wherein a number of trays containing different liquids are conveniently positioned so that the photographic material, generally in sheet form, can be placed in the different trays as required. Considerable care must be taken so that conditions remain constant in order to obtain consistent results. For example, the chemical solution should be maintained as a constant temperature while the photographic material is being processed and this solution must then be completely washed from the material when this step of the process has been completed. These conventional procedures in the dark room become unsatisfactory when large mural size prints ranging up to 30x40 inches in size are being processed. The trays must be of sufficient size to readily accommodate these prints and a considerable amount of space is required in a dark room in order to position these trays'where they are accessible to the operating personnel. In addition, these large size prints must be handled by two persons in order to be properly subjected to the different solutions in the trays. The entire process has been generally carried out in the dark room where it is not possible to observe the results until after washing and drying of a print has been completed. It has frequently occurred that after processing a large size print for about 30 40 minutes the resulting print is unsatisfactory and must be discarded.

It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved apparatus for processing photographic materials.

It is another object to provide a semiautomatic mechanical apparatus for processing large size prints and color transparencies that is simple, inexpensive and compact and does not require the use of special processing solutions.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for the processing of large size mural prints which will produce consistent results with a substantial reduction in operating man-hours.

According to the present invention the photographic processing apparatus may comprise a frame which can be positioned in a dark room sink. An outer cylinder is rotatably mounted in the frame and has end walls with a peripheral wall extending therebetween, there is a longitudinal access opening in the peripheral wall and extending into the end wall so as to define sector-shaped end wall openings. The longitudinal access opening is in the upper forward portion of the cylinder with reference to the frame when the cylinder is in the operating position to retain a liquid. At least a portion of the peripheral wall has a second wall spaced therefrom to define a jacket through which a liquid may be circulated through inlet and outlet means mounted on the outer cylinder. An inner cylinder is rotatably supported within the frame within the outer cylinder and is coaxial therewith. Means are provided on a flattened peripheralportion of the inner cylinder for retaining photographic sheet material on the inner cylinder. Within the outer cylinder there is positioned a plurality of spray nozzles for spraying a liquid along the entire length of the inner cylinder.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent upon reference to the accompanying description when taken in conjunction with the following drawings, which are exemplary, wherein:

FIG. I is an overall perspective view of the photographic processing apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken along the line ll-II of FIG. 8;

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 but with the frame in section and showing the outer cylinder rotated forwardly to the "dump" position;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 3 but showing the outer cylinder rotated rearwardly through an angle of 30into the wash" position;

FIG. 5 is an end view of a portion of the apparatus of FIG. 1 and in enlarged scale to show the driving motor;

FIG. 6 is an overall perspective view of a bearing block for rotatably supporting the inner and outer cylinders;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view taken through the trunnion of the frame and showing the manner in which the bearing block supports the two cylinders; and

FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of the apparatus of this invention with portions of the motor housing cut away to show the motor and detent structure. Proceeding next to the drawings wherein like reference symbols indicate the same parts throughout the various views a specific embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

As may be seen in FIG. I, the apparatus of the present invention is indicated generally at 10 and comprises a metallic tubular frame 11 such as of aluminum, steel or other suitable metal and having leveling feet 12. The frame comprises front and rear bars 13 and 14 respectively and mounting plates 15 and 16 secured on the ends thereof. Attached to the mounting plates by screws are bearing blocks 17 and 18 each of which is made of a plastic, such as nylon, and is provided with an inner bearing surface I9 and an outer bearing surface 20. The bearing block is illustrated in FIG. 6.

An outer cylinder 21 having end walls 22 and 23 and a peripheral wall 24 connected therebetween is rotatably mounted in the frame 1 by means of trunnions 25 on both end walls with the trunnions being received in the outer bearing surfaces 20 of the bearing blocks. The lower portion of the outer cylinder as seen in FIG. 2 is provided with an outer wall 26 to form a water jacket 27 over a portion of the peripheral surface of the outer cylinder. The ends of the water jacket are closed by end walls and an inlet and outlet are each mounted in the end walls so that water may be circulated through the jacket.

The outer cylinder is formed of a chemical resistant plastic such as fiberglass or acrylic.

As also may be seen in FIGS. 24, the outer cylinder is provided with an access opening 28 which is formed by a longitudinal opening in the peripheral wall 24 and sector-shaped openings in the end walls 22 and 23. The sector-shaped end wall openings define angles of about with respect to the rotational axis of the outer cylinder. As a result, approximately 25 percent of the peripheral wall of the outer cylinder is removed to define the access opening.

The outer cylinder end walls are provided with vertical slots 29 to accommodate the supporting shaft for the inner cylinder in a manner to be presently described. I

In the upper rear portion of the outer cylinder as shown in FIG. 2, there is provided a hollow spray bar 30 which extends between the end walls and is provided with a row of fog-spray nozzles 31 so as to discharge a spray over the entire length of an inner cylinder to be presently described. One end of the spray bar is connected to a source of fresh water through a valve which may comprise a ball valve to regulate the flow of water to the desired rate.

To facilitate the introduction of various solutions into the outer cylinder, the front edge of the access opening 28 is curved outwardly as shown at 32 to zigzag-shaped a spout. Other forms of spout arrangements may be employed to conveniently pour the chemicals into the outer cylinder.

A lamp assembly 34 is also mounted within the upper portion of outer cylinder 21 for use in the color reversal process. The lamp may be fluorescent or incandescent light enclosed in a clear tubular cylinder.

An inner cylinder 35 having a supporting shaft 36 at its rotational axis and projecting from both ends thereof is rotatably mounted in the frame within the outer cylinder. The ends of the shaft 36 are rotatably supported in the inner bearing surfaces 19 of the frame fearing blocks 17 and 18. In this manner, the rotational axes of the inner and outer cylinder coincide and this coaxial arrangement enables the cylinders to be rotated independently of each other and in opposite directions.

The inner cylinder 35 is similarly formed of a chemically resistant plastic suchas Plexiglass or acrylic. The peripheral surface of inner cylinder 35 has a flattened area 37 upon which there is mounted a plurality of clamps 38 for the purpose of securing the photographic material during the processing operation. The flattened area 37 is sufficient so that the clamps 38 do not protrude outside of the circumference defined by the peripheral surface of the inner cylinder. The clamps are known in the art and may be retractable so as to take up any slack in the photographic material which may occur when the material is immersed in solution.

The diameter of the inner cylinder 35 is such that it rotates in close proximity within the outer cylinder so as to displace much of the processing solution contained in the outer cylinder in a manner to be presently described. The axial position of inner cylinder 35 within the outer cylinder is maintained by annular spacers on both ends of the shaft 36.

One end of the inner cylinder shaft 36 is provided with a gear 41 which meshes with a driving gear 42 of a reduction gear assembly 43 drivingly connected to an electric motor 44. The electric motor is supported within a housing 45 upon a base plate 46 which is pivotally mounted at 47 to the bottom 48 of the housing. The other end of the base plate supports a shaft 49 upon which is mounted a cam 50 with a shaft 49 having a substantially right angle bend outwardly of cam 50 to extend from the housing through a vertical slot 51 with the outer end being provided with a handle 52 to facilitate movement of this shaft. The shaft 49, in effect provides for engagement or disengagement of the driving gear 42 with gear 41 on the inner cylinder. In the position as shown in H0. the gears are in driving engagement. When the knob 52 is raised to its uppermost position the flattened portion of cam 50 will rest upon housing bottom 48 and will lower the motor sufficiently so that driving gear 42 becomes disengaged from gear 41.

. Also mounted on the housing 45 is an operating switch 53 for connecting the electric motor to a source of electricity.

The front wall of motor housing 45 is provided with a depending portion 54 in which there is a horizontal slot 55 to slidably receive one end of a detent rod 56 which has a right angle bend therein and operating knob 57 on its outer end. The inner end of detent rod 56 is indicated at 58 and is engageable with notches or openings 59 in the end wall of the outer cylinder so as to retain the outer cylinder in a selected one of its three operating positions as shown in F lGS. 2, 3 and 4. These operating positions will be described in greater detail in connection with the operation of this apparatus. A switch 60 on the front wall of housing 45 controls the lamp 34.

In the processing of photographic materials, including color films and color papers as well as black and white film and paper, the large size sheet is mounted on the inner cylinder by having the edges of the sheet secured within the clips. The mounting of the sheet material on the inner cylinder may be facilitated by initially removing the cylinder from the outer cylinder. The inner cylinder is then replaced by positioning its shaft ends in the end wall slots of the outer cylinder so that the shaft ends are joumaled in the bearing blocks. A processing solution is then introduced into the outer cylinder through the spout provided for this purpose. No special or unusual processing solutions are required. These solutions comprise normal chemicals which are well known in the art. The chemical solutions used to process smaller prints are the same standard color chemicals (such as, for example, 85 Ektaprint C) used to process the mural size prints. Accordingly, all preliminary print tests can be made using the same facilities employed for small prints.

Since the inner cylinder rotates in very close proximity to the inner surface of the outer cylinder it is apparent that the inner cylinder will displace much of the processing solution whereby a small volume of solution will provide a relatively large contact area on the inner cylinder.

The inner cylinder is then rotated through the solution under the driving action of the driving motor and gear assembly for a sufficient duration of time to properly process the sheet material. As the inner cylinder rotates in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 2, the flattened or recessed area of the inner cylinder will modify the displacement of the solution in the outer cylinder with each revolution of the inner cylinder so as to create a desired turbulence of the solution.

During this rotation of the inner cylinder the outer cylinder is retained in its 01 operating position as shown in FIG. 2. The cylinder is retained in this position by the detent on the frame being engaged with the notch 59 on the end wall of the outer cylinder. Upon completion of each processing step of the photographic material on the inner cylinder, theouter cylinder is rotated forwardly to its 02 operating position for quick dumping of the solution. The outer cylinder is then rotated rearwardly 30 to the washing position where fresh water is sprayed through the nozzles along the entire length of the inner cylinder while the inner cylinder continues to rotate. In this position of the outer cylinder, there will be a partial retention of water in the outer cylinder as this water is sprayed against the sheet material on the inner cylinder. At the same time, the flattened area of the inner cylinder will impact upon the water retained in the outer cylinder to cause some of this water to be pushed therefrom. The spray bar and fog spray nozzles in the outer cylinder provide a constant uniform flow of fresh water to be in direct and continuous contact with the surface of the photographic material as it rotates on the inner cylinder during the washing and rinse cycles.

During the processing of the photographic material, the temperature of the processing solutions are maintained constant by the circulation of warm water through the outer cylinder jacket. The presence of this temperature controlling water jacket permits the use of or higher solutions for speed processing if so desired. The water jacket is intended primarily to maintain the solutions at a constant temperature and not to heat the solutions to an increased temperature.

Upon completion of the washing and rinsing operations, the inner cylinder may be removed from the outer casing and the photographic sheet material removed therefrom.

It will be apparent that the photographic processing apparatus of the present invention has a number of advantages. This apparatus functions to process large mural size prints with the same simple ease and convenience as small prints are processed. The apparatus eliminates the necessity to invest in large expensive solution trays which require a considerable amount of critically needed dark room space or the necessity of investing a large amount of money for complicated and sophisticated processes.

The present apparatus is operationally consistent and dependable since it has a minimum of moving parts. Not counting the driving motor, only the inner cylinder, the outer cylinder and the disengaging lever are movable. The absence of solution tanks, pumps, valves, ducts, dials all serve to reduce the hazard of malfunction and production stoppages.

The apparatus requires no special space, plumbing or electrical wiring in the photographic dark room. The unit may be placed within an existing dark room sink already equipped with the necessary plumbing connections to carry off exhausted solutions.

Only a single operator is necessary to operate the present apparatus and this operator can easily move the entire unit without any disassembly.

A considerable advantage is the one-time use of the processing solutions. Critical and uniform print quality are consistently maintained by using a fresh solution only once and then discarding the solution after each use. As pointed out above, no special or unusual processing solutions are required. This apparatus eliminates the need to purchase extra replenishing chemicals that require valuable shelf and storage space and significantly reduces the containers and storage space needed for mixed replenisher solutions. In addition, considerable labor is saved by not having to mix replenishers.

The problems of replenishing, inaccuracies and the hazards of oxidation that must be considered in stretching the shelf life of stock replenisher solutions are avoided.

The apparatus is sufficiently versatile to provide for the processing of print films for making transparencies with the same ease that paper prints are produced. The apparatus only requires employing a different set of chemicals and different operational programming.

It will be understood that this invention is subject to modification in order to adapt it to different usages and conditions.

What l claim is:

l. A photographic processing apparatus comprising a frame having a front, an outer cylinder swingably supported in said frame about a horizontal axis of rotation and pivotable to a dumping position and having end walls and a peripheral wall therebetween, there being a longitudinal access opening in said peripheral wall and extending into said end walls to define sector-shaped end openings defining angles of about 90, said longitudinal opening being in the upper front portion of said outer cylinder when in the operating position to retain a liquid therein, at least a portion of said peripheral wall having a second wall spaced therefrom to define a jacket, inlet and outlet means on said outer cylinder for circulating a fluid through said jacket, an inner cylinder rotatably supported within said frame within said outer cylinder and coaxial therewith, the upper rear portion of said outer cylinder peripheral wall curving outwardly from the rotational axis thereof so as to be spaced a substantially greater distance form the inner cylinder than the lower portion of the outer cylinder, the lower half of said outer cylinder being concentric with said innner cylinder and closely spaced therefrom, means on said inner cylinder for retaining photographic sheet materials thereon, and means within the upper rear portion of said outer cylinder for spraying a liquid along the entire length of said inner cylinder.

2. A photographic processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 and comprising means on said frame and engageable with 4 having a lamp assembly within the upper portion of said outer cylinder above said hollow tube. 

1. A photographic processing apparatus comprising a frame having a front, an outer cylinder swingably supported in said frame about a horizontal axis of rotation and pivotable to a dumping position and having end walls and a peripheral wall therebetween, there being a longitudinal access opening in said peripheral wall and extending into said end walls to define sector-shaped end openings defining angles of about 90*, said longitudinal opening being in the upper front portion of said outer cylinder when in the operating position to retain a liquid therein, at least a portion of said peripheral wall having a second wall spaced therefrom to define a jacket, inlet and outlet means on said outer cylinder for circulating a fluid through said jacket, an inner cylinder rotatabLy supported within said frame within said outer cylinder and coaxial therewith, the upper rear portion of said outer cylinder peripheral wall curving outwardly from the rotational axis thereof so as to be spaced a substantially greater distance form the inner cylinder than the lower portion of the outer cylinder, the lower half of said outer cylinder being concentric with said innner cylinder and closely spaced therefrom, means on said inner cylinder for retaining photographic sheet materials thereon, and means within the upper rear portion of said outer cylinder for spraying a liquid along the entire length of said inner cylinder.
 2. A photographic processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 and comprising means on said frame and engageable with said outer cylinder for positioning said outer cylinder in a selected on of three operating positions, said positioning means comprising a detent movably mounted on said fame and engageable with said notches in said outer cylinder.
 3. A photographic processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said spray means comprises a longitudinally extending hollow tube withing the upper portion of said outer cylinder and having a plurality of spray nozzles 6 thereon, and having a lamp assembly within the upper portion of said outer cylinder above said hollow tube. 